The Environment: Philosophy, Science, and Ethics

The Environment: Philosophy, Science, and Ethics

Publication Date

4-2012

Description

Philosophical reflections on the environment began with early philosophers’ invocation of a cosmology that mixed natural and supernatural phenomena. Today, the central philosophical problem posed by the environment involves not what it can teach us about ourselves and our place in the cosmic order but rather how we can understand its workings in order to make better decisions about our own conduct regarding it. The resulting inquiry spans different areas of contemporary philosophy, many of which are represented by the fifteen original essays in this volume.

The contributors first consider conceptual problems generated by rapid advances in biology and ecology, examining such topics as ecological communities, adaptation, and scientific consensus. The contributors then turn to epistemic and axiological issues, first considering philosophical aspects of environmental decision making and then assessing particular environmental policies (largely relating to climate change), including reparations, remediation, and nuclear power, from a normative perspective.

ISBN

9780262017404

Publisher

MIT Press

City

Cambridge, MA

Department

Philosophy

Comments

Topics in Contemporary Philosophy, volume 9

The Environment: Philosophy, Science, and Ethics

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